Lab Exercise 2 – Installation of BigFix Runbook AI without Document Search and Analysis in non-HA mode

This lab exercise showcases the installation procedure of BigFix Runbook AI without Document Search and Analysis in non-HA mode. The user needs access to the BigFix Runbook AI installer exe and follows a step-by-step process to configure the database details, select components, configure server settings, run the pre-requisite checker, configure admin details, perform the installation, and launch the application.

Scenario

An Organization has asked for installation of BigFix Runbook AI in non-HA mode. They are looking for only automation of IT operations without Document Search and Analysis functionality. You are part of the implementation team who has been asked to prepare the environment based on the requirements.

In this lab, we will showcase the detailed procedure for installing BigFix Runbook AI without Document Search and Analysis in non-HA mode.

Prerequisites

Hardware should be provisioned for a small environment (non-HA mode) as mentioned in the BigFix Runbook AI Installation Guide – One Server for Web & App Components and One Database Server

All the prerequisites mentioned should be installed on the servers as mentioned in the prerequisite guide

Database credentials should be available

The user should have “Write” permission on the Apache24 folder

The user should have access to the BigFix Runbook AI installer exe

Solution

  1. The user should have access to the BigFix Runbook AI installer exe.
  1. Copy the installer on the server meant for Web and Application components. In this scenario, both Web and Application Components resided on one server.
  2. Browse the Installer .exe in the folder and click Run as administrator to start installation. On running the exe, the following page appears.
Figure 1. Figure 28 – iAutomate Implementation
  1. Click Start, the following page appears. It will extract required binaries
Figure 2. Figure 29 – BigFix Runbook AI Installer Welcome Page
  1. Click Next. The page lists the setup required for installation in the left pane and the details of the selected setup in the right pane.
  2. The next step is to populate the database details.

Database Details

For this exercise, the authentication type is considered as SQL Server Authentication for database.

  1. On the Database Details view, type the Server Name and the Database Instance Name.
  1. Select Authentication Type as SQL Server Authentication.
  2. In the UserName and Password fields, type username and password to access the server.
  3. In the Database Name field, iAutomateDB is auto filled by default.
  4. To check the connectivity to a server using the credentials provided, click Check Connection.
  5. This displays a message for Connection Success or Connection Failure. Successful connection to the database enables the Next button.
Figure 3. Figure 30- Database Details
  1. Click Next to get to the Component Selection view.

Component Selection

  1. Select Web Component and Application Component.
Figure 4. Figure 31 – Component Selection

The administrator can add or remove components based on their environment as decided during the planning phase.

  1. Click Next to get to the Server Configuration view.

Server Configuration

  1. The IP Address / Hostname is auto-populated.
  1. Select the Account Type as Domain Administrator.
  2. Type in the organization domain in Domain field.
  3. In the UserName and Password fields, type the login credentials.
  4. Click Check User Validity to ensure the following:

User should be part of domain defined in field Domain Name

User should have administrative privileges to install BigFix Runbook AI components

  1. Click Browse to specify the appropriate Installation Path to install the server components.
  2. On successful connection to the server, a Validation Successful message appears beside the Password field.
Figure 5. Figure 32 - Server Configuration
  1. Click Next to get to the Pre-requisite Checker view.

Pre-requisite Checker

Pre-requisite Checker is responsible for checking if all BigFix Runbook AI installation prerequisites have been met before beginning the installation setup. It identifies all the missing pre-requisite software and utilities and highlights to the user. User will have to ensure that the identified prerequisites are installed before proceeding further

  1. Click Run to begin the process.
Figure 6. Figure 33 - Pre-Requisite Checker

The Pre-requisite Checker always runs as part of the BigFix Runbook AI setup.

A progress bar appears while the Pre-Requisite Checker runs.

Figure 7. Figure 34 - Pre-Requisite Checker (cont.)
  1. In the Status column, each pre-requisite is marked as Success or Failure
Figure 8. Figure 35 - Pre-Requisite Checker (cont.)
Graphical user interface, application Description automatically generated
  1. In case of Failure, Re-Run button appears. Please ensure that the identified issue is resolved and re-run the pre-requisite checker.
  2. Please refer case failure as mentioned in figure. This is quite common error where port 80 is not available. In this case, select a different port from component selection page or remove default website from IIS.
  3. Upon successful validation of all pre-requisites, Next is enabled. Click Next to get to the Configure Admin Details view.
Figure 9. Figure 36 - Pre-Requisite Checker (cont.)
Graphical user interface, table Description automatically generated

Configure Admin Details

To configure Super Administrator user for BigFix Runbook AI, perform the below steps:

  1. Type the new administrator’s Name, Email and Password.
  1. Enter the same password again in Re-enter Password field.
Figure 10. Figure 37 - Configure Admin Details

If the database provided in the Database Setup already exists at the time of installation, then the Configure Admin Details page will remain unavailable.

Please ensure password should be of least 6 characters; and Password and Re-enter Password should match. Post installation, the administration console can be accessed by this Super Administrator user.

  1. Click Next to review the information provided so far.

Installation

  1. Before proceeding with installation, review the information provided so far. To make any changes, Click Back to go back to previous views.
  1. Click Run to begin the installation process.
Figure 11. Figure 38 – Installation
  1. The progress bar displays the installation progress.
Figure 12. Figure 39 – Installation (cont.)
C:\Users\mishra_as\Pictures\2.png
  1. In case of any installation failure, error messages for the corresponding component appear on the screen. Click Rollback button to uninstall the components and re-run the Installer after resolving the issues. To perform the cleanup, delete all the folders manually on the servers’ installation path provided earlier. Contact the product team administrator for further assistance.
Figure 13. Figure 40 - Installation (cont.)
C:\Users\mishra_as\Pictures\2.png
  1. Once the installation is successful, Launch Application button appears.
Figure 14. Figure 41 - Installation (cont.)
C:\Users\mishra_as\Pictures\2.png
  1. Click Launch Application to launch BigFix Runbook AI website.
Figure 15. Figure 42 – Launch Application

Navigate to the {PythonHome}/Lib/site-packages/pkg_resources/_vendor folder and Delete the below marked folders.

Figure 16. Figure 43- Delete Folders before launch
  1. Restart all Apache/ Python component services.
  2. Click Launch Application button to start BigFix Runbook AI.

System will take some time to configure everything. Please wait for some time after clicking on OK button.

Figure 17. Figure 44 – BigFix Runbook AI Login Page

Conclusion

Post the conclusion of this exercise, you should have a thorough understanding of the installation of Bigfix Runbook AI Web and Application components small environment in non-HA mode.

Now, let’s explore the installation procedure for other modes and scenarios.